The research was conducted within the framework of a special project "Social Navigator" of the International media group "Russia Today" and Brand Analytics.

According to the results of the rating, Southern Federal University ranked 26th among 615 Russian universities subordinate to 21 departments. These are federal and regional ministries and departments, as well as municipalities.

In addition, in the rating of audience engagement on its own resources, SFedU took 48th place, in the rating of representation in popular science media - 20, and in the rating of representation in the media and social media — 26.

Also, given the importance of popularizing science and developing the third mission of universities in the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia, the study identified the leading universities in the regions in the field of implemented communication strategies, a total of 73 universities. In the Rostov region, they became SFedU and DSTU.

The integral rating is a ranking system based on the cumulative results of the audience engagement rating on its own resources, the rating of representation in popular science publications and the rating of representation in the media and social media. This is a new approach based on big data analysis, which allows you to see the real work of universities with all participants in the educational process and partners through various communication channels, as well as to assess the audience's reaction to university-initiated communications. The main task of the resource is to support the development of universities in the media by equipping specialists with an understanding of their own movement. The project aims to promote greater information openness of higher education institutions and increase the effectiveness of their communications with applicants, students, the scientific community, as well as with companies in various sectors of the economy.